Cardboard PM paraded in Aussie parliament protest

THE Australian parliament was thrown into chaos yesterday with the appearance of a life-size cardboard cut-out of the prime minister, Kevin Rudd.

A debate between MPs descended into farce as the conservative opposition paraded the "cardboard Kevin" in protest at the prime minister's absence.

Instead of being in Canberra, Mr Rudd visited an Aboriginal community in New South Wales and a town in Queensland which was recently flooded.

"It's not good enough that Mr Rudd and his ministers are not here five days a week when they demand other members of parliament to be here five days a week. We don't want to have cardboard Kevin here, we want the real Kevin Rudd to be here," said the opposition MP Joe Hockey, as his colleagues shouted "Where is he?" and "We want the prime minister here".

They suggested an acronym familiar to Australians, "RDO", no longer stood for "Rostered Day Off' but "Rudd's Day Off".